With its universal Windows apps concept, Microsoft is promoting the notion of apps that can be developed once and run across a variety of form factors. Unsurprisingly, the universal apps effort will be prominent at this week's Microsoft Build 2015 developer conference.

The conference's session list details Microsoft's outreach in this vein, including a discussion on the use of XAML for building universal Windows apps. "XAML UI took a big step forward in Windows 10 with new controls and new features to simplify tailoring app experiences across devices," the session description says.

Conference attendees also can learn about developing universal apps in Visual Studio 2015, exploring the development of adaptive apps, building a UI for different device families, and using platform and third-party extension SDKs. Another discussion covers the building of "accessible" universal apps, including APIs and techniques to leverage when using assistive technology.

Also in the Visual Studio 2015 realm, Build will cover creating cross-platform applications with the upcoming latest edition of Microsoft's signature software development tool. "We will explore the tools and technologies that you have available in Visual Studio 2015 for both Web and native applications that target Windows, iOS, and Android devices," according to one session description.

Development of cross-platform mobile apps via C++ and Visual Studio 2015 also will be covered, as will the creation of native and Cordova-based iOS and Android apps integrating Office 365 APIs and SDKs. Modern Web tooling in Visual Studio 2015 is on the agenda as well, covering the use of Gulp, Bower, and Npm.

Developers at Build also can take a "lap around .Net 2015," according to session information. ".Net 2015 builds on the advancements available in .Net 4.5, 4.5.1, and 4.5.2 to deliver a highly compatible platform for building applications for the mobile-first, cloud-first world. This presentation will include numerous IDE improvements as well as new features in Windows Presentation Foundation."

Windows 10 of course will get play at Build, including an app model for the OS, according to the session schedule. "Windows 10 dramatically expands the ways in which developers can build apps and games by adding several new programming models and also expanding the app model to support a broader set of developer scenarios." Project Spartan, providing a new browser and Web app platform for Windows 10, is on the agenda as well.

Microsoft also will discuss the future of TypeScript, its JavaScript variant. "Modern JavaScript has continued to grow and now incorporates more concurrency patterns, use of new JavaScript features, and more modular designs," a session description reads. "In this talk, we'll investigate upcoming features of TypeScript, like ECMAScript 6 support and async/await, and how they make working with modern JavaScript patterns and libraries easier."

This story, "Microsoft preaches the gospel of universal apps at Build" was originally published by
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